The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to ultrasound systems, and more particularly to ultrasound transducers and methods for manufacturing ultrasound transducers.
Ultrasound systems typically include ultrasound scanning devices (e.g., an ultrasound transducer housed within a probe) that perform various ultrasound scans (e.g., imaging a body or other volume). The scanning devices include acoustic elements that transmit and receive ultrasound signals. The ultrasound signals received by the acoustic elements are used to generate an image of the body or other volume. For example, the received ultrasound signals may be used to generate an image of internal tissues of a patient, such as, but not limited to, an image of a patient's heart.
But, transmitting ultrasound signals from the acoustic elements can heat a lens of the scanning device that physically contacts the patient. The lens of scanning devices typically has a maximum surface temperature of approximately 40 degrees Celsius in order to avoid patient discomfort and comply with regulatory temperature limits. Thus, lens temperature can be a limiting factor for performance of the scanning device.